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Bald Cav Tummy

CupofDog

Active member
Hi!

My Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Louis Reginald (Louie to us!) has a completely naked tummy. He has never been especially furry, and his tummy has been bald since I got him at 14 weeks.

He is 14 months old, eats a raw diet supplemented with probiotics and enzymes & he gets plenty of exercise and according to his blood panel, he is completely healthy.

We went to a veterinary homeopath who spent 3 hours interviewing Louis and I and he thinks it is vaccinosis and or related to an early neuter. (His breeder had him neutered before coming to me, when he was 10 wks.) We gave him a homeopathic remedy and saw no change in the bald tummy.

Since like, 5 vets have told me he is completely healthy, I am not so worried about a health problem or vitamin deficiency, but my poor Lou monster is cold! He refuses to lie down unless there is something between his naked tummy and the stone floor. We live in South Florida, so the air conditioning is usually turned up...My homeopath told me to put a shirt on him....It worked!! In clothes, he will lie down and relax anywhere.

I am just wondering if anyone else had this experience or anyone had any advice. Louis is my soul pup and I would go to the ends of the earth for my furbaby boy!
 
i would say his early neuter is right for his lack of hair........ under 10 weeks wow I have never heard of it that young ....a dog needs to go through puberty to mature its the same for bitches thats why vets recommend they to be spayed after the first season my vet prefers them to have 2 seasons

his lack of coat will be because he hasn't been able to mature
 
OMG, neutered that young, poor little fella. I wonder why she did it that young - did she say?

Glad the t-shirt is helping him though. I had a similar thing with my previous dog Leo, he was a Chinese Crested x & had very little hair on his belly & would never lie down unless he was on something soft - He used to wear clothes too as he was a weird coat with no undercoat - he looked like a drowned rat when he got wet as his couat would 'dissapear'!
 
Have you talked to his breeder about it? Are any of his littermates the same way or close to it? It sounds like it may be just a genetic thing based on all the vets you have seen. In any case, I think it's something the breeder may be interested in and worth talking about for your own peace of mind.

BTW, we used to know a breeder that would S/N puppies before they ever went to their forever home. She said the reason she did it was that she found that a couple (several?) puppy people decided to breed their girls, even though they had a restricted registration. They would then register the puppies with one of the bogus registries. Let's just say we agreed to disagree about the early S/N!!
 
Belly? As in, not his chest, but just his belly? Penny has a hairless belly. LOL - I mean, it has some peach fuzz on it, but it's just a little spotted pink belly.

As for the young neutering, that seems to be the up and coming thing here in the states.... especially with the boys. Some people are now chemically neutering... very strange.
 
You can see her naked tummy in this pic.... I have never ever thought anything about it. lol.

pennybed.jpg
 
Our Rosie was spayed at 9 weeks and has a full belly of hair.

Nothing wrong with her coat at all.

Must be genetic as Bruce suggests, maybe call the breeder.

Our Charley had much less lower belly hair that either Mary Alice or Rosie.

He looked similar to Penny. :)
 
I really think it depends on what you are seeing as 'bald'. Of my four cavaliers, only ONE has hair on her belly. The boys do not have, and never have had, any hair at all and neither has Lily. Hair on their chest, yes, but it stops at their bellies, which are pink just like the cavalier pictured. Of the bare bell dogs, two have fairly light coats and one has a heavy coat.

I think it is simply genetic. Lots of dogs have bare bellies.

Can you post a picture of his belly? Did the five vets think he is hairless as in, it is not normal, too?

I kind of doubt he could have any serious problem with floors because they are cold (my bare bellied dogs all lie on tile floors all the time, stomach down). But no harm in putting him in a shirt, either! :)
 
Bella has very fine hair around the section of her stomach - but doesn't look all that different from pennylane's pic.
 
Thanks for your responses! I am sorry - I was in the middle of a move and just got internet again! Phew!

Anyway, his breeder thinks its genetic b/c his bros and sisters are "hairier" then him. One of his brothers is showing and doing well! Louis came out a little "wonky" His tail is too long and he is a little to lanky for breed standard...The vets think genetics or, as I said earlier, directly related to pediatric neutering.

Its really his whole underside. He doesn't have a fine fuzz, its like petting skin! I will unpack my dig camera today and post a picture.
 
That would definitely be 'bare' all right! Maybe it will come in over time? I can see why he likes a t-shirt then. :paw:
 
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